The facts surrounding the bombshell published today by the Los Angeles Times are not at all in dispute:
* The Times obtained photos portraying soldiers of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division hamming it up with the remains of Afghan suicide bombers.
* It got the photos from a “soldier in the unit who was himself concerned that the photos reflected dysfunction, in discipline and a breakdown in leadership that compromised the safety of the troops,” Times editor Davan Maharaj said in a web chat about the story.
* The Times had no concerns about the photos’ authenticity. It published two of the 18 photos furnished by the source, to whom it has granted anonymity.
* The Pentagon opposed publication of the photos. A statement released today explains why:
“[Defense Secretary Leon Panetta] is also disappointed that despite our request not to publish these photographs, the Los Angeles Times went ahead. The danger is that this material could be used by the enemy to incite violence against U.S. and Afghan service members in Afghanistan.”
“Disappointed” sounds rather mild, as well it should be. A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Times and Pentagon officials declined to specify just how much pressure the government exerted on the newspaper to keep the pictures under wraps.
Whatever the case, the Los Angeles Times did the full sweep of due diligence here. It checked with the Pentagon on the story, it vetted the photos, and it showed restraint in publishing only “a small but representative selection” of the photos, in the words of Maharaj.
The position of Pentagon leaders isn’t hard to rationalize. Absent the publicity, they’d have no dangerous externalities to guard against, and they could proceed with appropriate disciplinary measures in any case.
Yet there’s a pivotal figure at the center of this story: $500 billion-plus. That’s what the United States has spent over more than a decade in the war in Afghanistan. The people who are footing that bill have a right to know what they’re funding. In this case, they’re funding yet another on-the-ground scandal. Public support for the war is sagging, and the Los Angeles Times photos won’t buoy it.
Once they stop their pointless scolding of the Times, military officials tend to say the right things about the episode. They are condemning the misconduct. They are deploring it, saying it doesn’t comport broadly with how the war is being prosecuted. One called it “morally repugnant.” As Lt. Col. Peggy Kageleiry told me, “This behavior doesn’t depict the Army’s values.”
Yet publishing this allegedly aberrant behavior surely does comport with American values. The more we know about these photos, the Marine corpse-urination situation and Abu Ghraib, the better.
The Pentagon is saying that U.S. forces in Afghanistan are “taking security measures to guard against” whatever reprisals may arise. If they do, don’t blame the Los Angeles Times.
16 comments:
The disrespect shown by military personnel to even their Afghan enemies should not be covered up. Although the Pentagon is valid in that the photos may provide further motivation for attacks on United States forces in Afghanistan, the actions portrayed in the photos should not have happened in the first place. This is not the first time that evidence has emerged of US military personnel mistreating the people (whether militant or civilian) of the Middle East, and only provides more support for Afghan militants in an already tense situation.
If you look at the pictures, you will see that yes there are dead suicide bombers in the photo. Yes, one of the two published looks like a pose. You just have to remember that these men are watching their best friends get blown up by suicide bombers, so why wouldn't you want proof of the death of a suicide bomber?
I believe the pictures should be posted for people to see, we should know whats going on overs there. I also believe the soldiers should be punished for their actions. I can comprehend their frustration and aggravation with the war and the events that go on around them, but their actions reflect Amerca's values.
I believe the pictures should be posted for people to see, we should know whats going on overs there. I also believe the soldiers should be punished for their actions. I can comprehend their frustration and aggravation with the war and the events that go on around them, but their actions reflect Amerca's values.
I believe the pictures should be posted for people to see, we should know whats going on overs there. I also believe the soldiers should be punished for their actions. I can comprehend their frustration and aggravation with the war and the events that go on around them, but their actions reflect Amerca's values.
I believe the pictures should be posted for people to see, we should know whats going on overs there. I also believe the soldiers should be punished for their actions. I can comprehend their frustration and aggravation with the war and the events that go on around them, but their actions reflect Amerca's values.
In my opinion, the photos should be able to be released. This is a different situation than with the urination incident, because whereas that was complete and total disrespect for the body, this is more of a "look at this!" type thing. Sure, it's very odd and disturbing, but it's not doing much to disrespect the actual culture of the people and the body, from what I can tell. The bombers tried to destroy something or kill someone knowing full well that they would die.
In my opinion i would like to see where the moneys going to support the war. If there is a scandal like this one or similar the American people have a right to know about. Understandably the pentagon is going to be a little bite more than just upset because they asked LA Times not to publish the photos and because it looks bad on U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
I think the pictures should have been posted and the pentagon should not have tried to interferer. I think corrective action should be put towards the soldiers who acted wrongly. As Americans we should know that the rest of the world could possible view us as cruel and cold. What the people in other countries see the soldiers doing reflects directly on us and their opinion of us as a nation. We need other countries to respect us and we don't gain any respect if we don't show it ourselves first. I can comprehend their frustration and aggravation of the events that effect them but that gives them no reason to disrespect another countries culture or event another human's death. We should be the "leaders" but how do we expect other countries look at us when we laugh at another human's pain?
Everyone in this situation is to blame for something. There is a whole lot of finger pointing going on, but everyone should probably be more worried about their own actions. The soldiers definitely should not have been "hamming it up" with the remains of Afgan bombers, the Times shouldn't have posted any pictures of it for the public to see, and although this sounds contradictory, the military officials shouldn't be angry that pictures of their men doing shameful things made its way to the public because by extension it is the officials' faults for not monitoring their men more closely.
First of all photos like this should not even have been taken, don't be upset at the the Times for publishing the truth maybe the army is serious about what they do but have some cracks to fill if you don't want these pictures to be shown then don't take them easy as that it was wrong to go against the Pentagons wishes but the issue is not wether they published the pictures or not the real issue is that these pictures should not have been taken in the first place . So be Angry but not at the times but at the soldiers who chose to act carelessly about representing our country. Thus said the times does need to take in what they have possibly done to the fate of our country another case of a lose for everyone situation.
First of all photos like this should not even have been taken, don't be upset at the the Times for publishing the truth maybe the army is serious about what they do but have some cracks to fill if you don't want these pictures to be shown then don't take them easy as that it was wrong to go against the Pentagons wishes but the issue is not wether they published the pictures or not the real issue is that these pictures should not have been taken in the first place . So be Angry but not at the times but at the soldiers who chose to act carelessly about representing our country. Thus said the times does need to take in what they have possibly done to the fate of our country another case of a lose for everyone situation.
First of all photos like this should not even have been taken, don't be upset at the the Times for publishing the truth maybe the army is serious about what they do but have some cracks to fill if you don't want these pictures to be shown then don't take them easy as that it was wrong to go against the Pentagons wishes but the issue is not wether they published the pictures or not the real issue is that these pictures should not have been taken in the first place . So be Angry but not at the times but at the soldiers who chose to act carelessly about representing our country. Thus said the times does need to take in what they have possibly done to the fate of our country another case of a lose for everyone situation.
While the Pentagon is right to worry about the consequences and be angry at the release of the photos, the LA Times is correct in that the taxpayers have a rightTo know exactly what they are paying for. Actions even military ones can hardly stay secret forever when there are photos and ready witnesses. The Pentagon's argument that US enemies might use these photos to fuel their anger at our country is weak. If they are angry enough to act against us, they will with less prompting than that.
If the Pentagon doesn't want photos such as this to be exposed, then they should take further measures in making sure that events such as that don't happen (if possible). I agree that the people should know what their hard earned money is paying for out there; they have a right to know. So all in all, it shouldn't be such a "disappointment" to the Pentagon that they were published anyways. Because in all actuality, they were bound to get out sooner or later.
The LA Times made a bold decision to defy the government, but it seems to have paid off. The public has a right to be kept informed, though I would like to have faith in the government's decision(s) to keep certain things under wraps as well. There are good points to both sides, but publishing the pictures was right this time.
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